Why Manchester United Should Forget About Signing Serie A Midfielder At All Costs

Being a Manchester United fan of 24 years, I have been used to some of the greatest football in the Premier League era. I grew up watching the likes of Paul Scholes, Roy Keane and even Bryan Robson, so now watching us rolling over for even the weakest teams, especially at home, is something I am struggling to get my head around.  Now reading reports of David Moyes putting his hopes into a central midfielder like Gokhan Inler to rescue him, it struck a nerve with me. Here’s why.

I have nothing against the player, but I am so used to United controlling the middle of the pitch that I would oppose the move.

Let’s run through his stats. He has played 15 times in Serie A, which shows that he is capable of playing at the top – Napoli are a respectable side, after all. But he has scored just once and has claimed just one assist.

Does that sound like a player who is going to come in and change our fortunes?

Oh, he’s a defensive player? We have Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher and Marouane Fellaini who can sit in the defensive roles, and Tom Cleverley who works his socks off in the more subdued role.

He has a shot accuracy of 38%, which is woeful, but he can pick a pass. But do we need five defensive midfielders who can pass the ball a few yards to each other? Will that solve the problem?

Not in my eyes, and I would go as far as suggesting that David Moyes needs to forget about going after him.